People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1277 The King of Nanchang always feels insecure about himself

In Penglai Hall, Empress Wu rarely rested here.

It's just a case of typhoid due to the sudden cold wind these past few days.

Yang Zhirou walked steadily into the palace, and a green curtain separated the inside and outside.

Yang Zhirou performed a great salute and knelt down in obeisance: "I serve the censor, and Yang Zhirou, who is observing the march of Luo Zhidao, pays homage to the Queen of Heaven. May the Queen of Heaven's happiness and longevity be boundless."

"Get back on your feet." Empress Wu coughed a little, and then said: "You have been observing for a year, have you gained anything from your observation?"

Yang Zhirou stood up, cupped his hands and said: "Reporting to the Queen of Heaven, I am almost always with King Nanchang in front of the army. I am watching many of his decisions."

"Tell me about it." Empress Wu sat up straight behind the curtain, and the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became solemn.

Yang Zhirou said in a deep voice: "The King of Nanchang is cautious and steady. His army is well organized. He is good at the overall situation and has careful plans, but he is also flexible... He is decisive and perseverant at critical moments. He does not hesitate when it is time to go into battle. For more than a year, He is like this every time he encounters an incident, and he is considered a qualified military commander."

"Qualified?" There was a hint of surprise in Empress Wu's words, and she said in disbelief: "Just qualified?"

"Yes!" Yang Zhirou was extremely sure, and then said with cupped hands: "Although the King of Nanchang has a strong view of the overall situation and can arrange everything in an orderly manner, he is far from being able to control the army like an arm and a finger. In my opinion, the King of Nanchang is at most a leader. An excellent general of the front army can do well to lead ten thousand cavalry to charge forward and kill, but if there are more, I am afraid it will be insufficient."

Empress Wu frowned and asked in confusion: "If I remember correctly, what you faced was a hundred thousand Tibetan army?"

"It was because Qin Ling was too stupid to divide the army of 100,000. This allowed the King of Nanchang to seize the opportunity and decisively divide his troops. He led the military guard on the right, the brave guard on the right, and the left guard to attack separately. In the end, the King of Nanchang had to use his own power to attack. As a bait, they directly rushed to kill Lun Qinling... Of course, this is also related to the transfer of Wang Xiaojie from the imperial court."

"I understand, so in front of the army, the King of Nanchang can only command 10,000 elite cavalry at most at one time." Empress Wu nodded somewhat suddenly.

Thinking carefully about military reports, this is actually true.

"In your opinion, can he be the Protector of the Tubo Prefecture, the marching commander of Luoxue Road, the right guard general, and govern the Tubo Prefectures?" Empress Wu stared at Yang Zhirou.

Yang Zhirou stood in the hall, breathing heavily.

There was no sound of wind around, but there was no obstruction in the flow of air, and Yang Zhirou gradually relaxed.

He took a deep breath, cupped his hands and said: "Queen of Heaven, Prime Minister Zuo said that the King of Nanchang is the most suitable candidate for the Minister of War in the court. I believe that this statement is correct. The King of Nanchang is good at overall planning and good at personally leading thousands of cavalry. If in the future, If we continue the conquest, I am afraid that my future achievements will not be inferior to those of Wenxi County Duke, so it is very appropriate for him to govern Tubo."

Empress Wu was stunned for a moment, unable to react, but then she suddenly came to her senses.

"Tubo has a vast terrain. After Luosu was conquered, there were only a few other resistance forces. There may be ups and downs, but it is difficult to have big weapons. Therefore, the King of Nanchang should choose to sit in Luosu and govern all parties, but Tubo has millions of people. , Even if the King of Nanchang has an excellent overall situation and his plans are amazing, it will probably take three to five years to sort out the situation."

After a slight pause, Yang Zhirou cupped his hands and said: "The King of Nanchang is good at planning people's hearts. In three to five years, the people of Tubo may fully return to the Tang Dynasty."

"Return to the Tang Dynasty." Empress Wu nodded slightly, and then asked: "What do you think of the King of Nanchang?"

Yang Zhirou pursed his lips. Although he knew in his heart that if Li Xuan was really appointed as the Protector of the Luoche Protectorate, the Queen of Heaven and the Emperor would definitely consider it carefully and consult with many parties, but now the repeated questions were a little too much.

However, he just pondered for a moment and then said: "The King of Nanchang is gentle and generous to his subordinates, but he is cruel to the Tubo people. But what really impresses me is his loyalty to His Majesty. I am afraid that both the government and the public will appreciate it." Few can match it.”

Empress Wu's eyes twitched, and then she smiled and said, "Can't you even compare to me?"

"If I become a high-ranking official, and if the court tries its best to collect wealth from my subordinates, I will definitely have to argue a lot. However, the King of Nanchang can understand the hardships in the court and the difficulty of household affairs. In addition to gold and silver, He is not greedy if he wants to keep other jewels and jades to reward the soldiers. Just like the big Buddha that was brought back today."

"I know that it is a golden Buddha weighing a thousand kilograms." Empress Wu nodded, remembering the golden Buddha.

"It is said that the Golden Buddha was moved out of the Ramoche Temple by the Tubo family. On the day it was moved out, everyone in the Ramoche Temple burst into tears." Yang Zhirou smiled a little, and then said: "After the Golden Buddha was transported to Nagqu, the King of Nanchang just looked at it. After taking one look at it, he didn't take it into consideration anymore, which shows that he is not greedy for money."

"In life, there are always hobbies. What do you think King Nanchang likes?" Empress Wu looked at Yang Zhirou with a faint look.

Yang Zhirou quickly handed over his hand and said: "The Queen of Heaven, I have only been in contact with the King of Nanchang for a year, and most of it was before the military. It's really hard for me to say what the King of Nanchang's hobbies are."

"It doesn't matter, you can say whatever you want, as long as you can't say it out loud." Empress Wu's face was very relaxed, but there was a coldness deep in her eyes that could not be refused.

Yang Zhirou was extremely embarrassed, but in the end he thought slowly and said: "I have been in contact with the King of Nanchang for less than a year. I know that he likes to paint on weekdays. He also participated in many marching maps. He likes to charge on the battlefield, but he mostly uses right guard and Zuo Xiao. Wei is the leader, calculating people's hearts, but he treats other clans more, and he also likes beauties, but he already has several wives and concubines in his family, and he likes power, but he always feels that he is not that interested."

"What do you mean by this?" Empress Wu was also a little surprised. She didn't expect Yang Zhirou to say that Li Xuan didn't care about power.

Yang Zhirou knitted his brows together, and then said with some uncertainty: "The King of Nanchang is the governor of Changzhou and the governor of Changzhou, but all matters of the governor's office of Changzhou and the governor's office of Changzhou are left to the two elders. Shi is in charge, but the King of Nanchang himself does not interfere much. He is more concerned about the overall situation and food and grass, and seems to have little interest in arranging personal appointments."

When Empress Wu heard this, she couldn't help but be stunned.

In the Changzhou Governor's Mansion, Changzhou Dudu's Mansion, and Empress Wu all had personnel deployed, and the reports coming in every year also reflected this.

The governor of Changzhou, Yao Yi, was personally recommended to the emperor by Li Xuan. He was also the father of Yao Chong, a good friend of the King of Nanchang, and the younger brother of Yao Lingzhang, the official of the East Palace. The relationship between the two is so close that it is probably difficult for ordinary people to achieve it.

But even so, Li Xuan entrusted all political affairs in Changzhou to Yao Yi, which was a rare trust.

In addition to the trust between the two parties and Yao Yi's outstanding abilities, there may also be a trace of indifference in Li Xuan's heart.

Especially Li Xuan's manpower in Changzhou was basically untouched by Empress Wu, and of course he was not promoted.

Yu Ze and He Zhizhang are rare private individuals under Li Xuan, and their transfer to Changzhou Hucao is not a big deal.

As long as Yu Ze is promoted to the governor of Changzhou in the future, Changzhou will be completely out of Li Xuan's control.

Empress Wu had a feeling that maybe Li Xuan really didn't care about Changzhou that much.

This is especially true for the Changzhou Governor's Mansion. Changzhou Governor Shi Zhang Da'an was Li Xian's crown prince Zuo Shuzi.

Fortunately, because of what happened two years ago, Zhang Daan and Li Xian broke off their relationship, so Li Xian's incident later did not involve Zhang Daan.

But even so, it will be time for Zhang Daan to retire in a few years. At worst, Zhang Daan will be sent to Luoche to serve as the governor of Fanzhou.

Now that Changzhou Governor's Mansion has Sima Xing Wenwei and Heyuan Guard Cheng Zhongzheng, everything falls into the hands of Empress Wu.

If Yang Zhirou and Wang Dezhen looted Tubo's wealth and brought it back to Beijing, then the King of Nanchang would not be a threat to Tubo.

Empress Wu frowned slightly. Li Xuan couldn't notice these things before he tasted them. Could it be that he really didn't care about rights.

Empress Wu raised her head and asked Yang Zhirou: "You and the King of Nanchang have discussed the matter of being the next governor of Changzhou and the governor of Changzhou, right?"

"We've discussed it." Yang Zhirou immediately handed over his hand and said, "The King of Nanchang is planning to elect Hei Te Changzhi, the right-leading army guard general. He said that if the King of Nanchang is transferred from Tubo in the future, then Hei Te Changzhi in Changzhou can calmly intervene. , stabilize the situation."

"Isn't this still appointing a private person?" Empress Wu rolled her eyes at Yang Zhirou angrily, but then her expression softened: "But although Hei Te Changzhi is an old general under Zuo Xiang, he is only a colleague. We don’t have many personal contacts with the King of Nanchang, so it seems that the King of Nanchang is really thinking about the overall situation this time.”

"But Hei Te Changzhi is still under the command of the King of Nanchang after all." Yang Zhirou reminded carefully.

Empress Wu waved her hand indifferently and said: "He is from the Buyeo tribe of Baekje. He is an upright person and trustworthy to his subordinates. He is only a general and is cautious. He knows what to do."

"Yes!" Yang Zhirou stopped talking.

It was as if Li Xuan's recommendation of Hei Te Changzhi completely relieved Empress Wu. She then asked, "Is there anything else?"

Yang Zhirou hesitated slightly, but finally said: "Queen of Heaven, I always feel that King Nanchang seems to have a special kind of insecurity, as if he is guarding against something deep in his heart, but he usually hides it very well."

Empress Wu was stunned for a moment, and then she seemed to have thought of something. She sighed softly, waved her hands and said, "This makes it clear why he is like this now. He values ​​power, but is careful not to touch too deeply. Everything is... It’s because of what happened back then.”

"What happened back then?" Yang Zhirou was a little confused as to what Empress Wu was talking about.

Empress Wu waved her hand and said: "This is an old thing from the Longshuo period. Don't worry about it, don't ask, don't check it out. Go back and have a good rest for a month. After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, accompany the King of Nanchang back to the front of the army." "

"Here!" Yang Zhirou immediately bowed and then slowly exited Penglai Hall.

"Come out." Empress Wu looked to the side, and Yuan Wanqing, dressed in a crimson robe, walked out from behind the curtain.

Empress Wu glanced at it, then turned around and asked, "What do you think?"

Yuan Wanqing bowed slightly and said: "The Queen of Heaven, I don't know what happened during the reign of King Longshuo of Nanchang, but I think it is impossible to transfer the King of Nanchang back to Chang'an easily. Otherwise, given the prince's trust in him, the court may be troubled."

"Yes, I understand." Empress Wu nodded calmly and asked, "How is the investigation of the Hezhou matter?"

"Wang Yinke is still investigating, but it must have been done by Guangjun who fled into Hezhou." Yuan Wanqing handed over his hand.

"Then handle it quickly." Empress Wu glanced displeased and said, "You don't want Changzhou to intervene. If you can't handle it, it's because you are incompetent."

"Yes, I was at fault." Yuan Wanqing only said that he was at fault, but he kept silent about it.

Empress Wu took a deep look at him and said, "After the new year, you will be transferred to Zhongshu Sheren. Don't let this delay you."

"Here!" Yuan Wanqing suddenly became solemn.

(End of this chapter)